Automatic seamless hosiery machine



Oct. 24; 1933. s. KAKIGAHARA 1,932,344

` AUTOMATIC SEAMLESS HOSIERY MACHINE Filed Aug. 14, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l www y/L,

A TTORNEYJ Oct. 24, 1933. s- KAKlGAHARA 1,932,344

AUTOMATIC SEAMLESS HOSIERY MACHINE 2-SheetS-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 14, 1930 Fig@ j@ f i L w 22 I N V EN TOR.'

BY; 74M

A TTURNEYJ Patented Oct.V 24, 1933 reizen AUTOli/IATIC SEAMLESS HOSIEBY MACHINE Shuji Kakigahara, Ikegami-Machi,. Ebera-Gori, Tokyo-Fu, Japan Application August 14,

1930, Serial No. 475,226,

and in Japan August 29, 1929 l Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic seamless hosiery machines, and concerns more particularly a device for knitting the foot part of ladies hose of the split foot type with an inturned knitted welt and has for its object to provide an improved device for knitting the foot part of ladies hose of the above mentioned kind so constructed as to be readily applied to a Scott and William model K machine with only a slight change in the existing machine.

According to one feature of the invention, the instep and sole parts of the foot part of the hose can be knitted from different yarns.

According to another feature of the invention, out floating yarns presenting an awkward appearance are entirely dispensed with and there is no floating yarn waste.

According to another feature of the invention, the device is automatically operated and adapted to produce hose of high class.

According to another feature of the invention, the machine provided wth the device produces perfect hose regardless of whether the gauge or stitch length is small or large.

According to another feature of the invention, the splice between the sole and instep parts of the hose makes two parallel straight lines to present good appearance.

According to another feature of the invention, the yarns used for knitting the inside of the sole part of the hose do not appear on the outside of the hose.

According to a further feature of the invention, the adjustment of the stitch of the sole part of the hose is rendered easy.

According to a still further feature of the invention, any small defect is avoided in the splicing of the ankle and sole part of the hose,

` when the splicing yarns pass through.

In connection with the application of this invention to a Scott and Williams K model machine, it is to be noted that the existing pattern drum of Scott and Williams model K machine is provided with four additional drum cams 48, only one of which is shown, of special form for actuating the push bars 37, 38, 39 and 40 as will hereinafter be described, the clutch shipper cam (not shown) secured to the clutch shipper drum (not shown) is made in a shape adapted to give the needle cylinder l2 reciprocating rotation in such a manner that it makes a round turn in one direction and then a similar turn in an opposite direction during the knitting of the foot part with the exception of the ring toe part of the hose,

as it may be the case when knitting the heel and toe parts of the hose, instead of making continu ous rotation in one direction, and a device is provided for bringing the existing cylinder jack (not shown) in its inoperative position during the reciprocating rotation of the needle cylinder 42.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a machine to which the invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a left side elevational view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of essential parts of the invention drawn to an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is a side detail view of the parts of the invention as shown in Fig. 3 taken from the left side thereof and drawn to an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the bed plate 1 is near its fore edge formed with a recess l which permits a slide member 3 to move through the bed. A guide member 2 for the slide member 3 is secured to the bed plate l'at its under side and below the recess 1 and is provided at one side edge with a slot G for a guide pin 5 secured to the corresponding side edge of the slide member 3. On the slide member 3 is secured a block li, the upper face of which is of a substantially trapezoidal shape as shown. A bracket 7 is secured to the flat top of the block fi and carries a guide member 9 by means of a rod 8, which guide member has substantially V-shaped ends 9 and inverted V- shaped notches 9 at the under side adjacent the V-shaped ends and normally engages with the needle cylinder 42. On the inclined upper faces of the block 4 there are fixed pins 12, on each of which is rotatably mounted a down picker 10. The down pickers are tensioned to normally lie with their heads below the respective inverted V- shaped notches 9 of the guide member 9 by means of springs 13 encircling the pins 12, one end of each spring being secured to the lower part of the pin, and the other end secured to the eye end of the stern 1l of the down pickers 10. The block 4 is formed at its flat top and under the bracket 7 with a recess 14, into which a member 15 is inserted. The member 15 is provided at the rear end with a windening pick stop 16 adapted tov engage with the stem of the down pickers, and is connected at the fore end to a rod 17 which is vertically movable by the switch cam rod 19 (Figs. 1 and 2) of the existing hosiery machine through means'cf a connecting arm 18, the rod 1'7, the member 15 and the widening pick stop 16,v whereby the slide member 3 may be vertically kmoved within the block 4. Secured to the bottom of the block 4 is a slide bed i3 on which a carriage 20 is slidably mounted. The

carriage is provided at the fore end with recesses 20', which are positioned beneath the notches 4 formed in end ci the bottom of the block he carriage 20 may be horizontally moved by an actuating bar 23 (Figs. 2 and 3) through a lever 22 pivoted at 22, and a connecting member 21 hav ing a pin 21' engaging with a notch on one end of the pivoted lever 22, the ends of which connecting member 21 being secured to the fore end of the carriage 20. The carriage 20 as clearly shown in Fig. 3 is provided at the rear end with two oppositely disposed stitch cams 24, which are normaln ly out of engagement with the needle cylinder 42, but which cams may be broughtl into engagement with the cylinder 42 by the horizontal movement of the carriage 20, caused by the operation oi the actuating bar 23. The slide bed 43 can be lifted and lowered with the slide member 3 by means oi an actuating lever 25 pivoted at 25', the fore end of which engages with the under sido of the guide pin 5.

etween the stitch cams 24, there is a center cam 25, which is substantially triangular in its general outline, and has a stem 2'? near an apex, which is inserted in a guide-way 28, formed at the top side of the carriage 20. The center cam may be horizontally moved by an actuating bar 30, through means of a lever pivoted at 29 and a pin 26l iixed to the fore end oi the stem of the cam and engaged with a notch provided at one end of the pivoted lever 29, as more clearly shown in Fig. 3.

-A segmental bar 32 having yarn restraining pins 3l is vertically and movably mounted in a guide 44 xed to one side of the existing latch ring of the machine by a bracket 33, the lower arm of which is inserted in the guide, and the upper arm hired to the segmental bar. The seg mental bar is pulled down by spring 34 during knitting of the heel of the hose, one end of said spring being secured to a pin 33 on the upper part of the lovver arm of the bracket 33 and the other end being secured to a pin 44 on the lower part of the guide 44, to permit the foot of the yarn restraining pins 3l to enter the corresponding recess formed near the periphery of the dial (not shown) on the needle cylinder, the restrainu ing pins being for the purpose of preventing the yarn for knitting the instep of the foot, which is now idle, from being caught by moving parts or" the machine during the knitting of the heel. The restraining pins are held out of the dial recesses, When parts other than the heel of the hose are being knitted, by a lever 35 which has a lug 35', and is adapted to be horizontally moved by an ac tuating bar '35, the lug being brought into en gag/ement with the under side o the bracket When the bar 36 is operated.

The actuating bars 23, 25, 30, 36 are connected with push bars 37, 32, 39 and 4i) respectively which are periodically actuated by respective cam drum 48 (only one of which is shown) provided on the existing pattern drum 4l.

An additional yarn nger 46 is provided for feeding yarns for knitting the sole part oi the hose, which is diiierent from the yarns for knitting the instep part of the hose, and represents a yarn change lever for controlling the feeding of the yarns. 48 presents a drum cam on the pattern drum 4l, 49 designates a switch cam for controlling the position of the long butt needles and represents a lever actuated by a drum cam 48 on the pattern drum 41 to actuate the cylinder jack (not shown) through means of the jack cam rod 51.

The other particulars of the Scott and Williams model K machine are not further shown and described, as the existing machine is well known and form no part of the present invention.

In operation, before the knitting of the leg part of the hose begins, it is to be noted that the slide bed 43 has been lifted with the slide member 3 by means of the push bar 38 through means of the actuating lever 2.5, the said push bar engaging at its lower end with the drum cam 48 of the pattern drum 4l (Fig. 2); the yarn restraining pins 31 have been lifted to their inoperative position by means of the push bar 40 through means or" the actuating bar 3G, lever 35 and bracket 33, the said push bar vengaging at its lower end with the corresponding drum cam 4S on the said pattern drum 41; the center cam 26 has been brought into disengagement with the needle cylinder 42 by means of the push bar 39 through means of the actuating bar 30 and the lever 29, the said push bar disengaging at its lower end with the drum cam48 on the said pattern drum; and at the same time the yarn ringer 46 (Fig. 2) has been moved to its inoperative position by means of the lever 29 through means of the auxiliary yarn change lever 47 operatively associated therewith; the existing cylinder jack (notshown) has been'brought into its operative position through means o the jack cam rod 5l andthe jack cam (not shown); the down pickers l0 have been in their operative position, the widening pick stop 16 being in its upward position; the stitch cams 24 have been brought into disengagement with the needle cylinder 42, the push bar 37 engaging at its lower end With the corresponding drum cam 48 of the pattern drum; and the long butt needles have been lowered, the switch cam 49 being in its lifted position.

|The leg part of the hose may now be knitted in the same manner as the regular Scott and Williams model K machine. in the course of knitting the leg part of the hose and after the inturned welt is knitted, the stitch cams 24 are brought into engagement withY the needle cylinder 42 by means of the push bar 37 by means of the actuating bar 23, the pivoted lever 22,

the connecting member 2l and the carriage 20,

the said push bar disengaging at its lower end with a drum cam 48 of the pattern drum; at i the same time the lever 50 engages at its one end with a drum cam 48 so that the cylinder jack is brought into inoperative position through means of the jack cam rod 5l and jack cam.

Upon the completion of the knitting of the leg part of the hose, the long butt needles are lifted by means of the switch lcam rod 19 through means of the switch 49, preparatory to knitting the foot part of the hose;l the slide bed 43 is lowered to the positionfor adjusting the stitch length or gauge of the ankle and sole parts Yof the hose by means of thepush bar 3S through meansof the aforesaid member associated therewith, the said push bar disengaging at its lower end with the drum cam; and the center cam 26 is brought into engagement with the needle cylinder 42 by means of the pushbar 39 through means or" the aforesaid members asso-V ciated therewith, the said push bar engaging at its lower end with the drum cam and at the iiil0 are helddown in their inoperative position enter the dial recesses and restrain the yarn used for knitting the instep While the heel is being knitted, and means for operating said restraining mechanism from the moving parts of the knitting machine.

3. In a hosiery knitting machine, a needle cylinder having a dial with a number of recesses, and movable needles therein, a horizontally and vertically movable cam carriage on the machine, means for operating the cam carriage, a needle guide member on the carriage, a pair of oppositely disposed stitch cams on the cam carriage, the guide member and the stitch cams both being adapted to engage while in an elevated position, the needle cylinder, for knitting the leg part of the hose, an independently operated slidable center cam on the carriage adapted to engage the needle cylinder for knitting the sole part of the hose, when the cam carriage is lowered in position, a pair of spring-held down-picks on the carriage for knitting the heel of the hose when the center cam is placed in a retracted position, means for independently operating the downpicks, in combination with a yarn restraining mechanism mounted on the knitting machine, comprising a segmental bar, a plurality of yarn restraining pins mounted in the bar adapted to enter the dial recesses and restrain the yarn used for knitting the instep While the heel is being knitted, an L-shaped bracket mounted on the segmental bar, a vertically disposed guide therefor mounted on the knitting machine, a horizontally disposed lever having a lug thereon adapted to slidably engage beneath the bracket arm for elevating the segmental bar, and resilient means connecting the guide and the bracket, for automatically lowering the segmental bar when the lug on the horizontal lever is removed from the bracket, and means for operating said horizontal lever from the moving parts of the knitting machine.

4. In a hosiery knitting machine having a pattern drum and a down-pick actuating rod thereon, a needle cylinder having a dial with a number of recesses and movable needles therein, a horizontally and vertically movable cam carriage having aV slotted guide-Way in its upper face, mounted on the machine, providing a means for supporting and actuating a number of associated operating partsv carried thereon, a trapezoidal block superimposed on the cam carriage, a needle guide member on the carriage normally adapted to engage the needle cylinder, a pair of opposed stitch cams mounted on the carriage for controlling the action of the needles; a center cam mechanism comprising a stem adapted to reciprocate in the cam carriage guide-Way, a pin in the cam stem, and a vertically disposed cam-shaped head on said stem adapted to control the operation of the needles in conjunction with the action of the needle guide member, a bent lever pivotally mounted on the carriage having a recess therein adapted to engage the pin of the center cam stern, and reciprocate the center cam when the lever is actuated; operating means connecting the pattern drum with the bent lever, a pair of opposed spring-held downpicks revolubly mounted on the carriage, adapted to engage the needle cylinder during the period When the heel of the hose is being knitted, means for independently controlling the action of the down-picks from the down-pick actuating rod oic the machine, means for vertically and horizontally moving the cam carriage and its associated parts from the pattern drum; and a yarn restraining mechanism, comprising a spring-actuated segmental bar mounted on the knitting machine, a plurality of yarn restraining pins mounted in the said bar adapted to enter the dial recesses and restrain the yarn fed to the needles and used for knitting the instep While the heel is being knitted, and means connecting the pattern drum with the segmental bar for permitting the automatic lowering of the segmental bar and the yarn restraining mechanism during the period of operation when the heel of the hose is being knitted.

Y SHUJI KAKIGAHARA. 

